Carlos Gomez is on the disabled list with a shoulder injury and Jim Edmonds joined him on the shelf today with a strained oblique.
That leaves the Brewers without their top two center fielders, so Jody Gerut will fill in with Ryan Braun and Corey Hart flanking him in the corners. Gerut has hit just .225 with a .654 OPS in 360 plate appearances dating back to last season and is stretched defensively in center field, but the Brewers are hoping to get Gomez back as soon as Friday.
Gomez is scheduled to play rehab games tomorrow and Thursday at Single-A, at which point he could be cleared to return. Prior to his shoulder injury Gomez was losing regular starts to Edmonds, so assuming he avoids a setback this could be an opportunity for the enigmatic 24-year-old to show what he can do as an everyday player. He was hitting .276/.321/.447 with six steals in six attempts before landing on the DL and Edmonds doesn’t figure to be a quick healer at age 40.
To his credit, Edmonds was playing well after sitting out all of last season, hitting .280 with a .362 on-base percentage and .462 slugging percentage in 105 plate appearances. He was in the lineup for 22 of the Brewers’ first 36 games, drawing 15 starts in center field and seven in right field.